Legal Issues Impacting Classroom Teaching

Compliance Resource Center

As a GSI, there are a number of legal compliance issues to keep in mind.  You
are a U-M employee, and are responsible for making sure you conduct your
work as an instructor in accordance with the various legal and regulatory
requirements that bind the University. As a primary interface with students,
you are also in a unique position to spot potential issues that arise
in the classroom, and to raise them with someone in your department before
they cause bigger problems.

The four most important legal issues for you to keep in mind are:

1. Student records – protecting students’ information;
2. Safety – for yourself and your students;
3. Copyright – making sure class materials are legally used and
   distributed; and
4. Appropriate treatment of students.

1.  Student records – protecting students’ information

All information about a student – such as their personal information,
enrollment details, assignments and grades – form part of their "student
record", which is protected by a Federal law, the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (commonly called “FERPA”).  Student
records must be handled in accordance with that law by all those who
have access to them.  For example, the requirements mean that:

• you may not post grades using the
  student's name or ID number;
• when returning student tests and papers,
  a system must be used to prevent access and/or release to anyone other
  than the student;
• you should password protect spreadsheets
  that contain student information;
• you can only use student information for purposes
  directly related to your role as an instructor: it would be inappropriate
  to share personal information that you learn about a student in your
  capacity as a GSI with others in your capacity as a student. 

For more information, see this Student
Records compliance page (http://compliance.umich.edu/education/studentrecords.html).

2.  Safety – for yourself and your students

The University has strict obligations to keep its students and employees
safe.  Never do anything that seems unsafe, and never let anyone
else do something that seems unsafe. Here are some practical things you
can do to improve everyone’s safety:

• The University has strict obligations to keep its students Take
  a few moments at the start of the semester to familiarize yourself
  with the safety and emergency protocols of each of the classrooms and
  labs you are teaching in – what would you do if an alarm went
  off in class? Where would you evacuate to? Where is the nearest fire
  extinguisher?
• If your class has laboratory components, make sure you know who your
  lab’s Safety Coordinator is. Follow all relevant safety procedures
  and ensure students do the same.  Get to know the general laboratory
  safety requirements (http://www.oseh.umich.edu/research/lab.shtml) .
  If you see something unsafe happening and can’t find your Safety
  Coordinator, contact Occupational Safety & Environmental Health (OSEH)
  (http://www.oseh.umich.edu/). For more information see “Laboratory
  Safety”, page 126.
• If you are injured while working, or witness an incident where someone
  else is injured, you must report it in line with your Department’s
  normal procedures (or to Work Connections, http://www.workconnections.umich.edu/).
• Program the Department of Public Safety (http://police.umich.edu/)
  non-emergency number, (734) 763-1131, into your phone so you know you
  can call them anytime you need to.

3.  Copyright – making sure class materials are legally
used and distributed

When creating and reproducing class materials, there are copyright compliance
issues to consider.  Make sure you understand the legal limits of
how you can and cannot use or hand out materials in your classes (or
post them on CTools) by reviewing the U-M
Library Copyright Office site
(http://www.lib.umich.edu/copyright/) on using copyrighted materials
(http://www.lib.umich.edu/-copyright/using-copyrighted-material).

4.  Appropriate treatment of students

• Keep your interactions with and treatment of students professional
  at all times: See page 176 “U-M Policy on Instructor-Student Relationships” for
  more guidance.
• As an instructor, you must apply the same standards and offer the
  same opportunities to all students in your class.  This
  includes students in special programs, like athletics.
  • E.g.  You can give a student-athlete an extension or
    agree to some alternative assessment, if the same opportunity would
    be given to any other student in analogous circumstances; but you are
    not permitted to give them special treatment just because they are
    an athlete, nor are you permitted to deny them opportunities for academic
    flexibility that you would normally give other students.
• For students with disabilities, you must provide reasonable accommodations
  to afford them equal opportunity to succeed in the class. The
  Faculty Handbook (http://ssd.umich.edu/-about/handbooks/pdfs/SSD_Faculty_Handbook.pdf),
  developed by Services for Students with
  Disabilities (http://ssd.umich.edu/)
  gives an overview of disabilities that affect learning in a college or
  university setting and guidance on the adjustments that can be made to
  accommodate students with disabilities. For more details about supporting
  students with disabilities, see CRLT
  Occasional Paper #17, Making
  Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: A Guide for Faculty and
  Graduate Students (/sites/default/files/resources/CRLT_no17.pdf).

For more information, resources and links about legal and compliance issues
relevant to teaching, see the Classroom Teaching guide (http://www.compliance.umich.edu/teaching.html) on
the Compliance Resource Center website (http://www.compliance.umich.edu/). 

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